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Dakar Rally 2013: Chinese Great Wall Team with another Top 10 finish.

Great Wall Motors’ Haval Dakar Team´s seasoned drivers Carlos Sousa and Zhou Yong once again headed up the two GWM Haval H5 racing SUVs, with Sousa claiming the 6th overall position, and Yong equalling his best Dakar performance by finishing 19th overall.

This year only marked GWM’s fourth ever participation in the Dakar Rally, making its feat even more significant.

GWM’s Carlos Sousa from Portugal, who has finished in the top 10 eleven times, had a consistent rally and apart from technical difficulties during Stage 3, maintained a position amongst the frontrunners throughout.

Zhou Yong displayed a solid performance every day, finishing 10th twice during the second half of the rally. He achieved record stage results amongst Chinese participants - another feather in the cap for the Chinese brand GWM.

This year’s 6th overall finish no doubt continues to prove that the GWM Haval H5 SUV can more than hold its own on treacherous terrain, and that GWM has a sound rally strategy and logistics support in place.

"Large-displacement petrol cars put us under heavy pressure this year, but in the end our perseverance paid off. The Haval Dakar Team well and truly deserves our congratulations," said Dong Ming, the team’s director.

GWM’s fourth Dakar Rally also garnered heightened attention for the GWM Haval H5 SUV, with the likes of top rally competitors Sainz and Gordon and renowned manufacturers Total and Michelin showing interest in the brand.

Distributed in more than 100 countries, 36,000 units of the GWM Haval H5 SUV were exported in 2012, ranking it amongst the top three Chinese auto brands based on exports.